Friday, March 29, 2024

Scrawl Up time

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FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS, a group of  “average youngster from the ghetto” have been scrawling up Crop Over with their fetes, limes and energy.

If you randomly ask any of the Scrawl Up Workshop crew’s patrons what they like about their events, they might start to sing Party Monarch Peter Ram’s All Ah We, which he released at one of their themed fetes this year. They might also sing “I don’t feel like leaving”, the catchy hook line from Sweet Soca Monarch’s Edwin Yearwood’s song Party Ah De Year.

From May 2009 till the present, Edward Forde, Rodney Mason, Tibu Johnson, Charles Austin, Fabian Todd and Roderick Hewitt have been hosting some of the best fetes where the vibe is always about partying – not posing – and enjoying the music at Crop Over or Scrawloween in October.

Spokesman Edward, who takes care of the marketing and operations, chatted with EASY about their origins in the autobody repair workshop in Westbury Road, their focus, and future plans.

“It was more of a communal thing in that we had a couple of guys in the community, when they had birthdays, decided they would buy some burgers, some steaks, some fish, some beers and some alcohol and beat a lime. It evolved from there . . . . The guys looked at it and said we have something here that we think we can turn into a business element and that’s how it all started.

“ . . . . We started then to charge in terms of bar sales because it was a garage and there was nothing to charge [for entry] and then it grew from there. We realised the numbers grew and grew and we had to look for another venue and the whole concept evolved to what you see today,” Edward said.

Feting is serious business and he pointed out that they could spend between $10 000 to $15 000 each night to ensure patrons enjoy themselves. Each member of the business has a role to play, which allows for a smooth operation, explained Edward. Charles handles all licensing requirements and permits; Roderick deals with bar supplies and operations; Rodney takes care of the technical aspects of the venues, Fabian the media and communication and Tibu, the “face” of Scrawl Up, also handles the bar operations.

This year they are based at the BIDC car park on Princess Alice Highway and the fishes are only things they might disturb with their 11 fetes when they end their calendar on August 15. That fete, which is way after Kadooment, Edward explained, is to give those people who arrive for the climax but remain afterwards a chance to scrawl up and enjoy themselves.

Edward said that finding appropriate venues is critical, given that “a lot” of their patrons don’t drive and often rely on public transportation to get home after the fetes.

“This is something we always look at when we’re choosing a venue. We like to have it centralised and localised. We don’t like the idea of taking our package out that people have to do too much to get there,” he added.

What is his favourite memory from those early days?

“The vibe, the vibe has still remained in that we tend to target the grassroots, we tend to target the middle income. The vibe was and is still the same. When you come to a Scrawl Up fete it’s all about feting, it’s all about enjoying yourself, it’s about what we call scrawl up.

“Sometimes people get the wrong connotation to the word. In the past we’ve had issues with sponsors who never really liked the name but they never did because they never really understood the principle behind the name and they never took the time.

“That is changing now because we’re seeing now that we have sponsors knocking on our door even sometimes long before the festival starts because they have realised that we were able, as a group, to use this concept and use this thing called scrawl up in terms of enjoyment of a fete, and building a vibe within a fete for our patrons. They have caught on and at the end of the day, your success is looked at from the numbers you acquire at your door and within your fete. So I’m saying that if we had 1 500 to 1 600 constant in our fete . . . at the end of the day we’re successful,” he asserted.

This year the group is bringing a Foreday Morning band, I Am A Scrawlatarian.

“We can safely say it has started moderately and, well, this is the first year and it can only build from there. The fetes are definitely good; they have exceeded our expectations. We still think that, given what was done last year and how the season went and the response from patrons in terms of numbers at the door, this year it has increased let’s say 25 per cent or more.

“Glow Fete is a classic example. The numbers were phenomenal. That is a reflection of the stock levels after the fete – the numbers were depleted.

“Our Foreday Morning band is a new element we’ve added to the calendar for the group. It’s something that we’re doing for the first time. It’s going on average because we never really expected to have that immediate transference of numbers that we would see in the fetes into the band,” Edward said.

The team has already started planning for Crop Over 2016, and ideas are being discussed to host fetes around Christmas, Old Year’s Night and maybe Trinidad Carnival, but nothing has been finalised yet.

Now, as they look to “push the brand”, there are endless possibilities.

“From last year we started to go in a different direction. We added an international element and associated ourselves with particular groups in England. One of those groups which is coming this week has pushed our band. About 30 people are coming and they are looking at taking the band into European carnivals such as Notting Hill and Berlin and to Miami Carnival as well.

“When I see the group in five years, we see ourselves at an international level producing shows, whether it is a Machel Montano or Shurwayne Winchester. The sky’s the limit and we’re looking to take this brand out there.The success that it has makes me hearty because this is a grassroots organisation; this is six fellas from the ghetto and at the end of the day this is what matters to us.

“We are just average youngsters coming from the ghetto putting out a production that people can come and say they enjoyed themselves,” Edward said, the passion resonating in his voice. (Green Bananas Media)

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